I am a conservative.  Libertarian too.  “Conserva-tarian” is a good appellation.  “Jeffersonian” is not bad either.

Conservatives among us had better stick with SEBAC for 2.5 more years.  (Remember, after June 2021, the oppressive part is over).

To conservatives:

A) Do you REALLY want to trust liberal judges to undo a freely negotiated agreement?  (Even conservative John Roberts wouldn’t undo ObamaCare; undoing SEBAC is MORE of a stretch.)

B) We conservatives are the ones who uphold contracts.  If we lose the integrity of our promises, there go future contracts, there goes the bond rating, there goes all conservative cred.

C) Conservatives have a beautiful moment to teach and reform.

As in:

1) It’s STUPID government that brings us oppressive contracts like SEBAC.
2) It’s IRRESPONSIBLE government that doesn’t do anything when investigators spot state employee malfeasance.
3) It’s UNCONCERNED government officials who accept bonding that taxes future generations,
4) It’s REACTIONARY government officials who enact event-based policies like SB 1160 and the PATRIOT Act.
5) It’s WAYWARD government officials who approve feel-good policies that pay people who don’t want to work.

So: End bad government.

Conservatives should join liberty-minded people and  fight to elect ONLY resolute, principled people.  Put them into a system that’s dedicated to the people and not legislators’ patrons.

I am one of those resolute, principled public servants.  I’ve changed my stance on only one policy in 30 years (immigration, and that’s because the circumstances changed on us).

My policy on SEBAC is beautiful: We keep SEBAC, but let state workers who are looking for BETTER peel themselves off.  We offer them private opportunities.

They get: market-based pensions, profits if their division is successful, and the opportunity to actually do work for NEIGHBORING states.

This last is very promising.  Connecticut’s own current and transitioned state workers can become lean administrators for NY, MA, or RI.  Their bureaucratic systems are at least as bad as CT’s but they too have people who recognize it, perhaps even their governor-elects (Andrew Cuomo shows glimpses of wise thinking but is hamstrung by New York bureaucracy; Charlie Baker, has good instincts but can’t get enough done right; Gina Raimondo knows RI bureaucracy is intransigent but is herself a decent spark plug for change.).

Conserva-tarians doing government RIGHT would be a tremendous accomplishment.  Republicans rarely do, and Democrats are worse.  An Independent Connecticut Government can keep long-standing principles, keep its GOOD workers while firing the rest, and restore to the PEOPLE more direct control over our regulations and our wallets.

Mark Stewart Greenstein is a candidate for Connecticut Governor and co-founder of the Americans for Minimal Government Party (AMiGo).

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